2012-2015
Reducing Health Disparities among
People with Intellectual Disabilities

About 2012-2015 Reducing Health Disparities among People with Intellectual Disabilities

There is a growing body of evidence that—when compared to people without intellectual disabilities—people with intellectual disabilities more frequently experience poor health and unmet healthcare needs. However, there is limited scientific understanding about the causes of these disparities. As a result, a systematic approach to studying these disparities and comprehensive national health surveillance for the population with intellectual disabilities are needed (Krahn et al, 2010).

The objective of the proposed project is to inform efforts to (a) improve the capacity of current health surveillance systems to track the health and healthcare of people with intellectual disabilities and (b) increase the effectiveness of health-related practices, services, and programs that influence the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

To achieve this overall aim, this project will pursue four specific aims: (1) identify the set of valid and reliable data sources that maximize the quality of information (e.g., population-based statistics and research findings), given the needs of the target audience (i.e., public health practitioners, administrators, and researchers) and the strengths and weaknesses of existing data; (2) identify an array of key variables to facilitate the study of the factors associated with disparities between the populations with and without intellectual disabilities; (3) develop and estimate empirical models that identify the factors associated with disparities between the populations with and without intellectual disabilities; and (4) disseminate the results of our activities to public health practitioners, administrators, and researchers (i.e., the projects target audience) in a manner that facilitates their efforts to reduce health disparities between people with and without intellectual disabilities and improve data collection.

Partners

American Association on Health & Disability

Center for Research, Inc. at the University of Kansas

The Reducing Health Disparities among People with Intellectual Disabilities–Component A Research Project is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under cooperative agreement 1U01DD000917-01, from 2012- 2015.

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